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STORY: GENEVA / GAZA UPDATE
TRT: 02:38
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 03 MAY 2024, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Med shot, UN flag alley
2. Med shot, speakers at podium, press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, Representative for OPT, World Health Organization (WHO):
“1.2 million, 1.5 million people, are crammed at Rafah. And any operation will result in an additional humanitarian disaster on top of what it already is.”
4. Wide shot, speakers at podium filmed from behind, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, Representative for OPT, World Health Organization (WHO):
“This contingency plan is Band-Aids. It will absolutely not prevent the expected substantial additional mortality and morbidity caused by a military operation. Also, of course, a military operation will lead to a new wave of displacement, more overcrowding, less access to essential food, water, sanitation, etc., and definitely more outbreaks than what we already have.”
6. Med shot, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, Representative for OPT, World Health Organization (WHO):
“We have to think about public health risks. And also, if you have at least people are buried properly that in the future forensic investigations can take place. And last but not least, it's a very important thing. The families can somehow, you know, organize their goodbyes in this kind of environment.”
8. Close up, journalist
9 SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, Representative for OPT, World Health Organization (WHO): “As of 20th April, so these are the latest figures, that you have already 46 cases of severe acute malnutrition with complications. So, they have been admitted to the so-called severe acute Malnourished Stabilization Centers. So, you find them at Kamal Adwan (hospital), and seven in Tal Al-Sutan, and four at the IMC (International Medical Corps) Field Hospital.”
10. Wide shot, speakers at podium filmed from behind, journalists
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, spokesperson, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“Most importantly, the hundreds of thousands of people who are there would be at imminent risk of death if there is an assault. So, we are looking at, if this happens, both what the Emergency Relief Coordinator has warned about could be a slaughter of civilians, but also at the same time an incredible blow to the humanitarian operation in the entire strip, because it is run primarily out of Rafah.”
12. Med shot, speakers at podium
13. Wide shot, speakers at podium filmed from behind, journalists
14. Wide shot, journalists
UN humanitarians warned today (3 May) that should a ground operation by the Israeli military occur in Rafah this could lead to “slaughter” in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
“The hundreds of thousands of people who are there would be at imminent risk of death if there is an assault,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in a media briefing at the United Nations in Geneva.
“If this happens, both what the Emergency Relief Coordinator has warned about could be a slaughter of civilians, but also at the same time an incredible blow to the humanitarian operation in the entire strip, because it is run primarily out of Rafah.”
Rafah is considered to be the heart of humanitarian operations in Gaza - the transshipment point for aid arriving in the Gaza Strip via the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.
It is where dozens of aid organizations store the supplies, they deliver to civilians across the Gaza Strip such as food, water, health, sanitation, and hygiene items.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners are making contingency plans to ensure the health system can continue providing some care, health experts consider this to be a drop in the bucket compared to actual needs.
“This contingency plan is Band-Aids. It will absolutely not prevent the expected substantial additional mortality and morbidity caused by a military operation,” said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative for the occupied Palestinian territory.
“A military operation will lead to a new wave of displacement, more overcrowding, less access to essential food, water, sanitation, etc., and definitely more outbreaks than what we already have,” Dr. Peeperkorn said.
He added that “1.2 million, 1.5 million people, are crammed at Rafah and any operation will result in an additional humanitarian disaster on top of what it already is.”
Severely malnourished children continue to need treatment, despite some improvements in the flow of food aid, according to the WHO.
“As of 20th April, […] you have already 46 cases of severe acute malnutrition with complications, so they have been admitted to the so-called severe acute Malnourished Stabilization Centers. So, you find them at Kamal Adwan (hospital), and seven in Tal Al-Sutan, and four at the IMC (International Medical Corps) Field Hospital”, said Dr. Peeperkorn.
Asked about the mass graves that have been discovered at the Nasser and the Al Shifa hospitals, Dr. Peeperkorn emphasized that WHO does not have criminal investigation capacities.
“We have to think about public health risks" Dr. Peeperkorn said regarding need to deal with the mass graves.
"Also, if you have at least people buried properly, in the future forensic investigations can take place. And last but not least, it's a very important thing: the families can somehow, you know, organize their good-byes.”
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